{"id":1251,"date":"2019-04-15T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T09:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerensnursery.com\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2023-01-11T12:24:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T12:24:53","slug":"free-time-during-the-school-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerensnursery.com\/free-time-during-the-school-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Time During the School Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

As teachers, we often see that children need their downtime by the time the school holidays arrive.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Time off to kick back and avoid the usual rush of nursery and school life. Time to just be.<\/strong> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As a parent myself, I understand the stress level of working parents and also non-working parents from our expected \u201cshift\u201d. Having the children at home for a number of weeks can be challenging if you don\u2019t prepare yourself emotionally for it. Our natural reaction is that we cannot think of anything better than spending precious time with our little ones. However, at times, some find the lack of a school or nursery structure somewhat more of a challenge.<\/span><\/div>\n
We\u2019ve put together some hints and tips to help you and your little ones make the most of the holidays. If you\u2019re someone who craves structure, try and plan your time as much as possible. Y<\/span>ou can also keep it simple with some of the following ideas:<\/span><\/div>\n

Nurture Free Play<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
\"children-free-play\"<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Spending time outside unleashes children\u2019s creativity; they will often invent games and take more notice of their surroundings\u2026listen carefully and you will hear them laugh more.<\/span><\/div>\n

Drink Up<\/span><\/h3>\n
Keep a shatterproof jug or set of jugs to hand at child\u2019s level and keep the cold drinks flowing. Encourage your little ones to try pouring drinks themselves. They\u2019ll love the independence. There are water dispensers you can purchase in all supermarkets. We love to do this at our nurseries too.<\/span><\/div>\n

Change Things Up<\/span><\/h2>\n
If last winter\u2019s sandbox is full of unmentionables, empty out the sand into a strong refuse bag and store it. If you sieve it (makes for another great activity) you can keep it for next year. Once your sandbox is empty, why not use it for water play instead? Fill the box with different empty containers and some kitchen tools, children love to transfer water from one container to another.<\/span><\/div>\n

Green fingers<\/span><\/h3>\n
At<\/span> www.kerensnursery.com<\/span><\/a> we get our children outside daily, whatever the weather. One of the favourite activities is gardening \u2013 watering, growing, and best of all, watching minibeasts. Have a go with your little ones, using miniature supplies, or encourage children to help you with simple gardening tasks.<\/span><\/div>\n

Go Eco<\/span><\/h3>\n
Instead of emptying out up your recycling bin, save the dry recyclables for junk art projects. Collecting \u201creal-life objects\u201d like bags, wallets and shoes for dressing up and role play, and use kitchenware, empty boxes, egg cartons, for the Little Picassos to enhance their imagination and stop them asking for endless screen time.<\/span><\/div>\n

Art Attack<\/span><\/h2>\n
When my kids were little, I used to set up an art corner that the children could dip in and out of. Keeping it available to children ensures continuity and access. You\u2019ll need basic materials like glue, sellotape, scissors, different colour paper, old magazines for collages, old pieces of jigsaws, crayons, stickers, and a range of more complex options to choose from according to age. Perhaps, buying a pack of different sized paintbrushes and letting children \u201cpaint\u201d with water on hot fences, patios or windows \u2013 good science and great fun.<\/span><\/div>\n

Picnic Hooray<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
\"children-lying-down\"<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
This has got to be the summer of picnics. Encourage your children to help prepare and sort healthy snacks into reusable containers, as well as preparing activities to take with ball games, scooter and so on.<\/span><\/div>\n

If the heat gets too much\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Get into the kitchen. Make an adventure out of cooking and preparing chilled and frozen snacks this summer. Lolly moulds filled with diluted fruit juice and fruit segments, ice fruit slushies in your blender, or get daring with chilled soups.<\/span><\/div>\n

Mums Keep Out! (Dads too)<\/span><\/h3>\n
Resist the temptation to interfere when kids get into conflicts. When spending more time with our children, that tends to occur much more often. Research has shown that children benefit in later life with improved interpersonal skills such as dispute resolution and sustained relationships if their parents let them figure out minor disputes without getting involved.<\/span><\/div>\n
Most importantly, don\u2019t overload! Don\u2019t feel that you need to entertain the children 24\/7! Being \u201cbored\u201d is not a disease. Children will learn to invent games and keep themselves busy. That is a great skill to develop<\/a>. Remember to also find time for yourself as well, so you can regain energy.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Good luck and enjoy the holidays.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Keren x<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A version of this feature first appeared on www.kensingtonmums.co.uk<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  As teachers, we often see that children need their downtime by the time the school holidays arrive. Time off to kick back and avoid the usual rush of nursery and school life. Time to just be. As a parent myself, I understand the stress level of working parents and also non-working parents from our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFree Time During School Holidays | Keren's Nursery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keeping children entertained and occupied during the school holidays can be tough, so we have provided you with some of the best ideas of things to do.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kerensnursery.com\/free-time-during-the-school-holidays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta 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